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Monday, April 22, 2013

Review: Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

Synopsis:Moving to a new high
school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But
nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a
klepto.

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so--in
hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history--he agrees
to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity
between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue
posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

My Review: You
know when you finish reading a book and this feeling washes over you
that makes you feel like, you, as a person have changed? That you cannot
help but look at the world a different way, now that you read it? That
all of that is okay because you don't want to go back.

I love that feeling. And Life After Theft is one of those books.

I
was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of the novel, and I am so
glad that I did. It is nothing less than stunning. The dialogue is
entertaining, especially being Jeff and Kimberlee - characters that I
found to be realistic, witty and enjoyable - but the themes that the
novel conveys run much deeper than normal teen drama and angst.

This
is a story that you can get into, and become a part of. Jeff is a very
commendable narrator, and you can't help but like him more and more as
you read on. I felt that Kimberlee was the same way. She might not have
been perfect during her lifetime, but I thought that just made her more
interesting of a character. Even if she was being - or had been -
terrible, I found myself liking her more. Don't we all think or say
things that make us feel terrible? I think that is part of who we are as
humans, and none of us are better than Kimberlee. There was one thing
she said that really got to me. I already put the novel on my bookshelf,
so this won't be a direct quite, but it was about how everyone is
acting, everyone is fake. I feel like that is the complete truth. I know
it is not just me when I go out and put on a fake smile, when on the
inside I want to do anything but. Sometimes I feel that I am only truly
myself in moments like now - when I am alone in my room, forgetting
about life and just letting myself be consumed by words - whether they
are an author's or my own. I think the reason that I like Kimberlee and
Jeff's characters is because they are so great to connect to. Sometimes,
we feel like Jeff. We just want to do what is right, help out others.
But other times, or maybe just so deep down we choose to ignore it, we
are more like Kimberlee.

I feel like I went off a little bit
there. What can I say? Life After Theft is a personal book, and I can't
help but give it a personal review.

Considering I am posting this
before the publishing date, I am going to refrain from giving anything
away. But I will tell you this: if I were you, I would be counting down
the days to April 30th on my calendar, because this is one book you don't
want to miss.

Pike created a novel that is funny and clever
enough to interest you from the beginning, and beautiful and haunting
enough to stick with you after the end. Absolutely brilliant.